HOW I SET THE “TWITCH-UP” FOR THE HARES
It had a rather musty but not unpleasant taste with a slight nutty flavor, and I judged that, cooked, it might be very palatable. The question of eating mushrooms had occurred to me before this, but I knew nothing as to the edible qualities of fungus except that certain species were deadly and some nutritious, and I had not dared attempt eating them. Now, by the merest chance, I had discovered an edible species, and with a feeling of intense gratitude to the hare, I determined that his life should not be forfeited to my appetite and that he should be rewarded by being spared. Without more ado I removed the snare which I had taken so much trouble to prepare, and pocketed a large section of the fungus. That there was an abundant supply of this growth in the forest I was confident, and as I walked toward the river I searched on every log and stump for more. Several large masses were found, and, as many of these had been partly devoured by small animals, I felt reassured as to the edible and nutritious qualities of the sponge-like material.
“I PLUCKED A BIT OF THE QUEER GROWTH AND TASTED IT”
I reached my shelter without further adventure and at once prepared to cook and sample the fungus. I was not at all sure as to the best method of cooking it, and decided to try a small quantity in various ways. I therefore placed a lump among the hot coals to roast like a potato, while another lump was hung on a green stick before the fire to broil.
Hitherto broiling and roasting had been my sole means of cooking food, but now, having remembered that Joe had once showed me how to boil water in birch bark, I made a rude pot of this material, placed water and fungus within, and set the whole over a bed of hot coals covered with ashes. The bit of fungus to be broiled soon shriveled up and was transformed into a leathery-like material, tasteless and useless, while the piece roasting in the coals sputtered and sizzled, and might as well have been a bit of pine bark at the end of a few minutes. Both of these methods were undoubtedly failures, and I watched with some anxiety the piece boiling in the birch-bark pot. When it had boiled for some minutes I fished a bit out and, as soon as it had cooled, proceeded to taste it. Much to my joy, it had quite lost its musty, woody flavor and was as sweet, nutty, and palatable as a boiled chestnut, and I at once drew forth all that remained in the pot and dumped in all I had left. Words cannot express the satisfaction I felt at thus having discovered a source of vegetable food which I could gather as I traveled along and which would assure me a supply of provisions without the trouble and labor of trapping animals, catching fish, or hunting frogs and mussels.
As soon as my meal of fungus was finished I arose and, taking my frog-spear, made my way to the brook and my muskrat-trap. It was with quite a little excitement that I pushed my way through the thick growth toward the runway where the deadfall was placed, for even with my newly acquired knowledge of edible fungus I felt that meat would be necessary, or at least welcome, during my tramp, and the success or failure of my first trap meant much to me. But I had no cause to worry, the deadfall had been sprung and had served its purpose well, for projecting from beneath the log was a furry head. Even before I reached the trap I thought it the largest muskrat I had ever seen, and as I stooped down to lift the log I uttered an involuntary cry of amazement. The creature I had caught was no muskrat, but a great, fat beaver. Truly, my first attempt at trapping had been a huge success.
CHAPTER IV
I SET FORTH ON MY JOURNEY
Although I felt a hunter’s elation at having captured the beaver, he was really of less value to me than a muskrat. His flesh, especially his tail, was edible, I knew, but I doubted if I would care to devour his meat unless very hungry, for the scent and taste of castor would be too strong. His fur, although thick, was by no means in good condition, and even if it had been “prime” it would have been of little value to me in the forest, but, nevertheless, I foresaw that I might find use for skins, and very wisely, as it turned, decided to skin the creature and dry and preserve the hide.